Deuteronomy 11:1Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

Deuteronomy 11:13-14aAnd it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season.

Deuteronomy 19:9If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three.

Deuteronomy 30:16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Deuteronomy 30:20That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Joshua 22:5But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

John 14:15If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Some people think that an
emphasis on obeying God’s commandments becomes legalism. It can become
legalistic if the person only does what’s right without the correct heart
attitude. It also can become religion, if the person obeys the commandments as
a way to “earn his place in heaven.” Scripture teaches us that rules without
heart are just rules. (Matthew 7:21-23) It also says we could never earn our
way to heaven by doing good works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) It’s only through faith in
Jesus’ payment for sin on the cross that we can have eternal life.

Keeping God’s commandments is
something like a child’s keeping a parent’s rules. The child loves his father
and mother, and therefore, he gladly obeys them. Solomon told his son, My son, forget not my law; but let thine
heart keep my commandments (Proverbs 3:1). The child’s heart and his
obedience are linked together.

It’s exactly the same way with
God. We love Him with our heart, and then we are happy to obey His will. We
want to do what will please Him—out of love. Doing God’s wishes isn’t a burden;
it’s the privilege of love. The Apostle John puts it this way, For this is the love of God, that we keep
his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3).

Hi and welcome to In the Way! I explore many subjects, striving always to present them from a biblical viewpoint. Feel free to browse the tabs at the top for general categories. If you don't see what you're looking for, use the search button below. I'm a pastor's wife, mother of two, grandma, teacher, author, and blogger. I live in a quaint little village in the beautiful Basque region of northern Spain.

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Lou Ann is a young-thinking grandma with an infectious laugh. She rejoices in nature and other beautiful things--including people! She's an avid writer and practices several other artistic expressions, like singing when no one's listening, calligraphy, photography, and even "serious art." Lou Ann loves her Lord Jesus Christ, family, and her church.